Many chairs are equipped with four or five legs with rollers for easy maneuverability about a desk or other work station in an office. Typically, the chairs are constructed of wood, or metal, or both, and are susceptible to damage when the user's shoes contact the legs of the chair, as is the case when resting the feet on the legs of the chair. The user's shoes are also susceptible to damage from the legs and rollers of the chair. On wooden chairs, a metal protective rib can be placed on the back spine of a leg to prevent gouging of the wood by the user's shoe. On metal chairs, a strip of plastic or other material can be attached to the legs to prevent damage to the metal portion of the leg by the user's shoe. While these protective strips minimize damage to the leg of the chair, they are ineffective to prevent damage to the user's shoe caused by the chair legs or rollers.
The damage caused by the legs and rollers of the chair upon the user's shoes is particularly annoying because it ruins the aesthetic appeal of the shoes. Also, people often wear expensive leather shoes that are easily damaged and not easily replaced or repaired. The shoes may become damaged through normal use of the chair whether or not the user rests the shoes on the legs or rollers of the chair. When the chair is moved or scooted about on the rollers, the rollers and the legs sometimes bump the shoes gouging, scraping and scratching the leather or other material which absolutely ruins the shoes.
While the problem of shoe damage exists for both men and women, men's shoes are typically constructed of heavier gauge material that does not gouge or scar as easily as the delicate material of women's shoes. Therefore the problem is particularly acute with women's shoes. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a device to help prevent damage to the user's shoes by the rollers when using modern office chairs.
A troubling aspect of the problem of shoe damage is that a person's shoes may be damaged by the chair during ordinary careful use of the chair whenever the legs or rollers come in contact with the shoes. Such contact is typically made when the chair is maneuvered into position during the ordinary course of work. The problem is very serious, causing not only the immediate damage to shoes, but a loss of productive time while repairs are contemplated or damages are commiserated. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a device that prevents damage to the user's shoes without interfering with the operation of the chair.